Placido Polanco Gone from Tigers, reunites with Phillies

Placido Polanco didn’t receive an arbitration offer from the Tigers, making him all the more valuable on the open market.  He didn’t last long on that open market and is reportedly heading to the Philadelphia Phillies.

It is being reported that Polanco is getting a 3-year deal worth $18M.  There is a mutual option for the fourth year.  The Phillies obviously don’t have room for Polanco at second base since they have Chase Utley, so it appears that Placido will be making a return to third base.

This closes the Polanco chapter in Detroit and I think it was a good one.  Polanco was a steal in the first place and he was never tagged with the label of “overpaid”.  Polanco played on some very good Tiger teams, but I’m glad the Tigers didn’t pony up this kind of cash to keep him.  Good time for both parties to move on.

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Tigers Like Ryan Spilborghs

According to Jayson Stark of ESPN, the Tigers are among a few teams interested in Colorado outfielder, Ryan Spilborghs:

“While the Phillies tread water waiting for the starting-pitching market to loosen up, they’re still hunting quietly for right-handed hitting outfield depth. The latest name on their radar screen, according to clubs that have spoken with them, is Rockies’ energizer Ryan Spilborghs. But Spilborghs, who won’t even be arbitration-eligible until next year, appears to have several other teams interested. Among the clubs known to like him: Detroit and Boston.”

Spilborghs, who will turn 30 in September, is a right-handed hitter who has never played 100 games in a big league season. However, he has a career on-base percentage of .365, which is better than the marks of Placido Polanco, Curtis Granderson and most other Tigers outfielders.

It seems to me that if the Tigers were to go after Spilborghs, it would likely mean the end for Magglio Ordonez. Why else would they need this guy? He’s much better defensively that Magglio and he’s obviously out-slugging the former slugger right now. Spilborghs has spent at least 89 innings at every outfield position this season, so he is versatile.

The Tigers outfield is a bit crowded right now and that’s not including Carlos Guillen. As it stands, the Tigers have the following options in the outfield:

• Clete Thomas
• Josh Anderson
• Curtis Granderson
• Magglio Ordonez
• Marcus Thames
• Ryan Raburn

Is there really room for Spilborghs there? I think it’s pretty obvious that someone would have to go for good to make room for another outfielder.